


Stormy weather and creepy cellars

by hopelessly_me



Series: Spoopy season 2020 [6]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Clint Barton doesn't do basements, Clint Barton's crummy childhood, M/M, Mentions of past child abuse, Severe weather, basements are creeoy, light bit of angst, mentions of robotic cats, old abandoned house, secret fear, watching the storm blow by
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27154204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: Tony and Clint find an old, abandoned house to crash in for the night after a long day. When the storm outside picks up unexpectedly, Tony goes to force them into the basement only to be met with resistance. That’s when he learns something new about Clint.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Tony Stark
Series: Spoopy season 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959886
Comments: 14
Kudos: 68





	Stormy weather and creepy cellars

“What is taking you so long?” Tony asked somewhere between a whine and a grumble.

“Things are a little slippery,” Clint muttered, trying to remind himself not to get angry- Tony was just tired, Clint was just tired. The lock finally gave away and Clint sighed, opening the door. “Here we go.”

“Smells like dust,” Tony commented as he walked in, Clint following behind after using his shirt to wipe away the blood on the door handle. “Looks abandoned.”

“That was the point,” Clint said, locking the door. “What did you expect? To find a clean home, waltz in and say Hi I’m Tony Stark. Here’s a thousand dollars to borrow a bed for the night?”

“It couldn’t have hurt.”

Clint sighed and slipped past him. “Babe, you know I love you…. But if Steve ever sends us both on a mission like this together again, and I might leave you tied up at a crazy man’s house.”

“Awww, that’s just about the sweetest thing you could have ever said to me,” Tony commented, following Clint. “Hey.” Clint felt Tony’s hand on his shoulder and he relaxed. “I’m just trying to shift the mood a little. Between the mission, crashing a car, and walking for miles in a rainstorm, I figured maybe-” Tony let the words drop.

Clint sighed and nodded. “Let’s just see if we can luck out with a phone, alright?” he suggested. “See if maybe we can call for extraction and then find a spot that isn’t spiderweb central to sleep it all off.”

“Your hand,” Tony said, waving his hand.

“It’s fine. I’ll see if I can find a first aid kit that isn’t covered in dust older than me and use whatever I can,” Clint explained before he turned and kissed the top of Tony’s head. “Split up but stay inside, dodge windows just in case.”

“You act like this is my first time,” Tony said, pressing a kiss to Clint’s jaw before he headed off.

Clint watched him for a moment before he turned to do his task. First aid kit. He knew Tony had gotten a bit roughed up but neither of them had the moment to check each other over yet. So he explored the rooms on the first floor, looking for a bathroom, or under the kitchen sink for a first aid kit, but he was coming up empty handed. 

With a heavy sigh, Clint leaned against the counter as the rainstorm outside intensified. The last thing he needed at the moment was a thunderstorm. He closed his eyes and reached up, rubbing his temples and reminded himself that he was here, in his own body, that everything was going to be okay. He tested the water, which was turned off, and he slammed his hands down on the sink before he jolted, pulling his left back and shaking it.

“I’m an idiot,” he mumbled.

“My favorite idiot.” Clint turned around and rested his thighs against the counter. Tony smiled and came closer. “So… no phone. No first aid kits. I think we are stuck for the night, unless I can somehow get the watch to work.”

“I’m sorry,” Clint said, his voice cracking. He squeezed his eyes shut as the kitchen was illuminated with light from the storm outside, his stomach rolling. “Fuck, Tones, I’m sorry.”

“What exactly are you apologizing for?” Tony asked. “Okay to touch?”

“Yeah.” Tony’s fingers were pressing against Clint’s hips as soon as the word left his mouth. “Everything? I don’t know. I’m in a shitty mood. We don’t exactly have a way out without having to walk more and-”

“Clint.” Clint refused to open his eyes, though when he lowered his head he felt Tony’s forehead meet his. “Everything went according to plan. If the worst thing that happened was our communication line going dead and having to walk for several miles, I’m taking that as a win.”

“I know,” Clint said shakily. He reached out and tugged on Tony to pull him closer, wrapping his arms around him. “You hate walking for miles. In the rain. Wouldn’t even give me a kiss.”

“I am not doing that cliche with you, I don’t care how much you beg. I physically can’t,” Tony said with a light laugh. “Anyway, I bet I have this up and working in an hour,” Tony bragged. “I’m not letting my own invention get the best of me.”

“That’s my boyfriend,” Clint said tiredly. “We can probably find a light so you have a good spot to work. No moonlight to work off of.”

“Let's settle on sitting near a window, alright?” Tony suggested. “You know, a spot lacking a lot of spiderwebs,” he added teasingly.

Clint snorted and shoved at him. “Come on. Let’s find a cozy spot.”

It took a few minutes before Clint found “the spot”. He sat down with a groan, his back against the wall as he pulled one leg up. Tony took up the space closer to the window, removing his watch and pulling a small kit out of his pocket. Clint watched for a few minutes before he had to focus on something else, eyes closed. He thought he would try meditating or something, but the storm outside was only getting worse, the wind howling now, the rain beating down on the windows.

“I was thinking we should make a robotic cat,” Tony said casually, out of nowhere.

“What?” Clint asked, confused and exhausted. He looked over as Tony worked, a smile appearing on his boyfriend’s face. “You want to make… a robo-cat?”

“You said you want a pet.”

“A robot is  _ not _ a pet,” Clint said with a groan. “It doesn’t even purr.”

“I bet I could make a robotic cat purr,” Tony said confidently. “I bet you a week’s vacation, my pick, that I can make a purring robo-cat within a month.”

“Honey- no robo-cats,” Clint laughed. “Cats already want to take over the world. Combine that with robots and soon enough the human race will be hiding in the shadows from our robot overlords.”

Tony looked over, his face marked with offense for a moment before Clint knew he was going to joke around with him. “Excuse you, I am  _ birthing _ this thing. It will love and respect me.”

“Is that how it works?” Clint asked, leaning over, putting his weight against Tony, who slid for a moment. “Speaking of love and respect. Maybe we could-”

A siren started going off and Clint’s eyes flickered over to the window. Tony looked over as well, watching outside. “So I am going to take this as one of those fancy tornadoes you country folk get. For the record, this is why I live in New York.”

“Want to walk out onto the front porch and watch it?” Clint asked. Tony stared at him as if he was crazy. Clint shrugged. “What? I’m a Midwesterner- it’s what we do.”

A streak of lightning struck nearby and the resulting thunderous boom rattled the old building. Tony was up and on his feet. “Basement. I saw one.”

Clint was still processing the words as Tony was helping him to his feet and down the hall, opening a door and flicking a light on. Clint’s hands gripped the doorway before he could follow Tony down the stairs. Tony made it halfway down before he looked back in confusion.

“I, uh- I don’t… I don’t do basements,” Clint said nervously.

“What do you mean you don’t do basements?” Tony asked. “We were just underground in an old-”

“In houses. I don’t do basements in houses,” Clint corrected, feeling his heart rate spiking. “Missions are one thing. Houses? Nuh-uh. Nope. I would rather risk becoming a projectile than going down those stairs.”

Another rumble of thunder shook the house and Clint felt his stomach tighten. Tony looked nervous, still lingering in his spot with his eyes moving between Clint and down the rest of the stairs. “Well we can’t stay up there. Clint, the house is ancient. If there is a tornado, this place is gonna collapse.”

Clint knew the logic was sound, but he couldn’t bring himself from letting go of the doorway, or take even a step down. Feelings of dread started to bubble up into his chest and he was pretty sure his palms were getting sweaty. The thought of climbing down the stairs was starting to make his head spin, threatening to make him sick.

“Clint.” Clint’s eyes locked onto Tony. “Nothing bad is going to happen. But we need to be in the basement, okay? We’re superheroes but we’re human. Whatever it is, we can talk about it. But only after we’re safe.” He reached a hand up, taking two steps closer.

Clint nodded and swallowed down the rising bile, forcing himself to reach a hand out to take Tony’s. Once he had a strong grip, Clint made his way down with Tony. It seemed like it took ages before his feet were on solid, dirt ground.

“Fuckin’ creepy ass basement,” he muttered. “Always with the creepy ass basements.” He let go of Tony and wiped his hands on his pants nervously.

Clint hovered at the foot of the stairs, his hand on the railing as he looked around. In the dim light he couldn’t see the other end of the basement well, although he did see a dull door handle that made a shiver go down his spine. There were spiderwebs galore, mason jars that were so dust covered he wasn’t sure if anything was in them. There were boxes and what he believed to be an old covered up mirror. His thumb rubbed on the railing and he looked back up at the open door, his means of escape still viable. He convinced himself that if that became unusable he could probably,  _ maybe _ find a way to crawl out from the small window because Clint was  _ not _ going to be stuck down in a basement.

“Clint.” Tony tilted his head, taking several steps in before he found a space to sit down. Clint followed him reluctantly and went to sit down. “Nope.” Clint paused and looked at Tony who pulled his legs up but held them apart. He reached forward and patted the space between them. “Right here.”

“Babe,” Clint whined.

“Come on. You make me do it,” Tony argued lightly.

Clint sighed and complied with Tony’s request. It helped that from this angle he could see the door at the top of the stairs was open. As soon as Clint was on the ground Tony was wrapping his arms around him and pulling him back until they could both settle in.

“... you should be fixing that stupid watch,” Clint muttered, his eyes scanning the rest of the basement. He was pretty sure there were rodent bones not too terribly far from where they were.

“It can wait five minutes until you stop looking like you are going to bolt. And it’s kinda dark,” Tony answered. Clint hated it- he hated knowing he was so easily readable right now, and no amount of trying to slip into his headspace was going to change that after he had been caught. “So what is it about basements?”

“Did you ever consider maybe I don’t want to talk about it?” Clint asked.

“Hmmm, I did,” Tony said slowly. “But as established, I am a nosey fucker.” Clint couldn’t help the small laugh that wiggled it’s way out. Tony was a nosey fucker, Clint had told him that on numerous occasions before they were dating, and a handful while. “And we both know that you’ll cave and tell me so we might as well get it open and in the air, right?”

Clint nodded a little and let his body relax as much as he could, letting his head fall back against Tony’s chest as he sank a little. “It’s not a great story.”

“If it was a happy endings kind of story I would assume you wouldn’t be nervous in basements,” Tony said. It wasn’t said out of sarcasm or anything- just acknowledgement that he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear. If nothing else, Tony was good at letting Clint know where he was standing- he was a better listener than what most people gave him credit for.

Clint nodded and looked over to the stairwell, making sure that door was still open. “I was four years old and the basement was off limits. Dad didn’t want us down there.” When Tony didn’t make a noise Clint went on. “But we were playing hide and seek and Barney had opened the basement door, and I kinda thought maybe he was down there. So I stood at the top of the stairs for a minute, thinkin’ about it before I slowly went down the stairs.”

“Got a quick question,” Tony interrupted.

“Yeah?”

“What about severe weather? I mean, Iowa is a plain state. Didn’t you have tornadoes growing up?” Tony asked.

“We did,” Clint answered. “Midwesterners. Most of the time we stood on the porch. Dad used to say that it made us men. It drove mom crazy- she wanted us inside and in the shelter closet, which dad only agreed to if he could hear the tornado. Otherwise we were forced to sit on the front porch and watch the weather.”

“Ah.” One word, one noise, and it weighed heavily between them. Clint knew what that ah meant, and he was thankful for it. “Go on.”

“Anyway. So I’m in the basement and I’m calling for Barney to come out. I wasn’t too loud, or at least I didn’t think I was. I didn’t want dad to catch us in there. But he did,” Clint said. He reached his hands up and grabbed Tony’s hands. “After getting my ass beat into next Tuesday, ears ringin’, he locked me in that basement for… I don’t know how long.” Clint clenched his jaw for a moment, trying to use that energy for anything other than panicking. “The lights were off, and at the time I was terrified of the dark. So I sat huddled up in the corner closest to the stairs and I waited. I knew better than to knock on the door or call out for help. After however long, my mom was the one who opened the door. I had never ran up a set of stairs so fast in my life. I didn’t stop to hug her, I just ran outside, into the field and I flopped down.”

Tony didn’t have to know Clint had spent hours outside that day, in the sun to remind himself that he was okay. Or that he cried and cried until he was pretty sure he was dehydrated because every joint and muscle felt weirdly achy and stiff. It wasn’t exactly the day he lost his hearing, but it certainly was one of the days leading up to his massive hearing loss. The only reason he came in that night was because Barney had found him and said if he didn’t come in before dad came home that he was going to be locked in that basement all over again. Maybe most importantly, no one had to know that wasn’t the only time that Clint was locked down in the basement.

“I’m sorry,” Tony said after a minute, his nose brushing up against the back of his head.

“Not exactly your fault,” Clint said with a sigh. “Ever since I just… I can’t shake the feeling of dread in basements. I’ll go down in them if I have to for work, but normally it’s not like this. Underground for work means something different than…” Clint let the words fall.

“So you haven’t been in the basement in Iowa since?” Tony asked.

“Just that one time, with you,” Clint answered. “When you set up the security room down there with the monitors.”

“You didn’t flinch,” Tony commented.

“That was back when I cared what other people thought of me,” Clint explained. “Or I guess what the team thought. I wasn’t going to tell you one of my biggest fears after only knowing you for a year at that point. So I went down there and we went through it and-”

“You went outside and disappeared for an hour or two,” Tony finished, his voice quieter than what Clint was expecting. His arms tightened around Clint protectively. “Going to do that today?”

“It’s nighttime, what good would that do?” Clint asked. “Can’t exactly get the creepy crawly basement feeling out via sunlight if there isn’t any.” Another rumble of thunder and the cover on the mirror across from them started to slip. Clint tensed up. “That thing falls off and I’m running for it,” he warned.

“Here.” Tony got up, climbing over Clint, making a lot of noise while doing so. Clint grunted and groaned, smacking Tony’s thigh when he finally got over him. Tony grabbed onto the covered mirror and moved it. “Damn this thing is heavy.”

Clint smiled a little and got up, still feeling a little shaky. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Trying to make my boyfriend-” Tony said with a grunt, turning the mirror slowly, “-more comfortable.” He let go once he had it turned and fixed the sheet. “There! Even if it does fall, we don’t have to peek into a creepy mirror.”

“It might be a gorgeous mirror for all we know,” Clint said.

“Unless it’s the Mirror of Erised I’m not banking on it,” Tony said.

Clint stared at him before he blinked. “Did you really just make a Harry Potter reference?” he asked. He started to get a grin on his face, his hands coming up to grab onto Tony’s shirt, tugging it a little. “Awwww, babe, do you secretly watch or read Harry Potter behind our backs?” he asked teasingly. 

“No,” Tony scoffed.

“Uh huh. Sure ya didn’t,” Clint answered. “It's okay to admit you like something, you know. Even if it’s-”

There was a creaking noise that shot right through Clint, and even Tony became tense in his arms. Clint slowly dragged his eye over to the door he had noticed, and watched as it ever so slowly inched open. Tony flinched and turned in Clint’s arms. There, in the middle of the floor, was a dusty old red ball that started to roll forward.

“Nope! I’m out!” Clint shouted, letting go of Tony and darting for the stairs.

“Clint!” Tony shouted but Clint was already halfway up them, taking them two at a time. “Hey! That could have been a murderer and you left me to fend for myself!” Clint wasn’t sure if he sounded more amused or offended.

The storm had died down some, the wind more forgiving than it had been a half hour ago. Clint turned his back to the kitchen and watched the basement stairs. He heard Tony walking with heavy steps, calling his name in an eerie pitch.

“I’m not scared of ghosts, you moron,” Clint shouted at him. And he  _ wasn’t _ .

“Clint, do you want to play?” Tony asked, high pitched and with a song. Clint saw the red ball bounce out, hit the wall, then bounce back to the basement.

“You are one disturbed man, Anthony Stark,” Clint scolded, taking a step back. “That thing is ancient. Probably covered in… I don’t know. Scarlet Fever.”

Tony was laughing as he emerged. “Scarlet Fever? Really?” he asked.

“The next time you ask for help with the arc reactor I’m leaving you dead for two minutes,” Clint commented breezily. “Come on,” he added, holding a hand out.

Tony raised an eyebrow. “I’m not falling for that. I’m not dancing with you.”

“I’m not tricking you into dancing,” Clint said with a huff and a smile. “Come on, trust me.” Tony eyed Clint’s hand warily before he took it. “Wow- such confidence. It almost hurts,” Clint teased before heading for the door. “I am going to make you a pseudo-Midwesterner yet.”

“You sure this is a good idea?” Tony asked. “There was just those sirens and-”

“I’m not going to let anything hurt you,” Clint answered as he opened the door.

Tony squeezed Clint’s hand. “I know. Alright then- show me how it’s done.”

Clint looked around the porch. “Ah. Yes. Here.” Clint walked to the steps. “You sit right there.” Tony looked at Clint skeptically before he sat down. “And I sit right here,” Clint added, sitting behind him, legs on either side, squeezing Tony tightly for a moment before Clint could lean forward, wrapping his arms around Tony.

“I knew this was a trap,” Tony grumbled.

“Never a trap,” Clint assured him, planting a kiss on his cheek. “And now we watch the rest of the storm.”

Tony leaned back into Clint as the storm rolled by. The lightning still danced across the sky, but the thunder was rolling down to a low rumble, almost too quiet for Clint to hear. The wind picked up and died down a few times, never enough to be of concern, and the rain had started to trickle down instead of pour. All the while, Clint and Tony sat quietly watching as it passed.

All the nerves had died down, the anxiety about being in the basement as Clint watched the phragmites and sedges across the road swayed with the wind. For the first time in a long time, Clint wasn’t craving the sunlight and the warmth it provided. Tony, warm under his touch, was enough to brush away all the dread, all the fear.

“I should probably work on the communication device,” Tony said.

Clint wasn’t ready to let go just yet. Instead, he tightened his hold just a little. “I think you should tell me more about this robo-cat.”

**Author's Note:**

> Look, my Midwestern heart loves sitting outside during a storm. And I have a low key obsession with phragmites and sedges and I finally, FINALLY, found a spot for them in a fic. It is a weird obsession but it's there. They bring me happy memories of car rides and landscapes.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. =)


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